Abstract
The present study investigated the impact of limited visual information on the cognition of gymnastic movements among expert gymnasts. Participants, comprising 10 expert gymnasts and 10 novices, were asked to identify gymnastic elements after observing gymnastic movements displayed using the point-light method. The number of visible points was reduced during the experiment from 10 to 4 and then 2 points. Under all conditions, experts correctly identified more gymnastics elements than novices. In addition, experts based their answers on the power-related aspects of the movements, whereas novices based their answers primarily on visual and spatial representations of the movements.
These results suggest that expert gymnasts possess superior visuomotor skills with regard to gymnastic elements, which enables them to perform their own movements precisely.
